Home Health What Are the Benefits of CBD?

What Are the Benefits of CBD?

by Louise W. Rice
1.4K views

CBD oil, also known as cannabidiol, is an extract of the cannabis plant. While THC is famous for its psychoactive and addictive properties that leave users with side effects like anxiety and depression, CBD has a somewhat calming influence. Due to its calming properties and absence of psychoactive effects, people often opt to purchase bulk extracts, to conveniently have them on hand for creating their own oils, edibles, and beverages.

Due to the restrictions on the growth of cannabis in most countries, research on the benefits of the plant’s derivatives has been limited. With the plant becoming legal in most states in the US, though, interest in the effects of the derivatives of cannabis has skyrocketed, and CBD is no exception. This has led to researchers discovering the strong medicinal properties of CBD oil. 

While CBD can be extracted from any strain of the cannabis plant, certain strains have been found to contain a much higher quantity of CBD than others. For cannabis growers who plant for the purpose of extracting CBD oil, you must get CBD seeds. CBD seeds are variants of the cannabis plant that contain a high concentration of CBD. The trade-off to this high CBD concentration is that cannabis plants grown from CBD seeds have a low concentration of THC, which is the active ingredient that gives the high feeling.

Benefits of CBD

Although research hasn’t been able to unearth the full benefits of CBD, the following have been proven to be some of them. 

1. Ease anxiety and depression

CBD has a calming effect on its user, which is one reason why it is highly sought after. A study carried out in 2017 revealed that taking the right amount of CBD could significantly reduce anxiety when faced with distressing situations. Other studies have revealed that CBD has a similar effect to antidepressants. 

2. Treat some epilepsy syndromes

Epilepsy seizures have been treated using CBD. It has been so effective that the FDA approved its use as a drug for the treatment of seizures caused by some novel forms of epilepsy

3. Reduce the symptoms of PTSD

A number of studies have been carried out on the effectiveness of CBD on PTSD patients. It has been found out that using CBD in concert with therapy is an effective way to speed up a patient’s recovery from PTSD. Some other research has investigated the effects of CBD combined with THC, and it has been discovered that a small dose of THC taken with CBD serves to enhance the effects of CBD. 

4. Treat addiction to opioids

CBD has been found to be effective in treating people addicted to substance use. Certain studies carried out on patients addicted to drugs like heroin found those administered CBD to be less prone to cravings and withdrawal symptoms than those who did not receive any CBD. It has also been found to be useful in alleviating the symptoms of individuals dealing with dependence on drugs and substance use disorders. 

5. Take care of ALS symptoms

CBD has been found to be useful in the treatment of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients. ALS is an illness that leads to the deterioration of the brain and spinal cord nerve cells. This deterioration leads to muscle response and control loss as the condition worsens. ALS is not perfectly understood yet, and only two medications are currently approved by the FDA to treat the disease. Studies have, however, revealed that CBD can help ease ALS symptoms. In a study carried out on individuals with varying levels of ALS severity, it was discovered that administering CBD together with THC had a favorable effect on the conditions of these patients. 

6. Relieve intense pain

CBD can be used in different forms. It can be ingested in the form of CBD gummies, applied topically in the form of CBD creams, or injected directly into the bloodstream. The use of CBD to treat pain from certain medical conditions has been approved in Canada. More research is being carried out to prove that CBD is effective in treating cancer and non-cancer pains. Applying CBD topically has been found to be great for relieving topical pain as it attends to the pain directly, yielding more effective results than other methods. 

7. Help diabetes patients

Studies have led to the discovery of CBD’s potential to limit the effects of excess glucose on human cells, which is an indicator of the development of diabetes and diabetes complications. Research on the results of CBD on the human body has revealed that CBD helps to limit the activities of resistin, which is a hormone that increases the body’s resistance to insulin. It also boosts the activities of hormones responsible for the release of insulin, thereby serving as a means to tackle diabetes right from the roots. 

8. Protect against neurological illness

Clinical studies have unearthed the anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of CBD. These properties have been linked to CBD’s ability to protect one against neurological disorders. CBD has also been suggested to provide favorable results on patients suffering from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. 

9. Manage the symptoms of arthritis

Drugs containing CBD have been found to be of great benefit for people who suffer from arthritis due to its great pain relief properties. Studies have been carried out to prove the beneficial effects of CBD drugs on patients suffering from arthritis. CBD has also been found to assist arthritis patients in moving their joints. 

Grow Your Own High CBD Cannabis

With the relaxation of the law on the growth of cannabis in most US states, your dream of growing your own cannabis garden can become a reality. However, you have to remember that different strains of cannabis have varying properties. If you plan to extract CBD from your cannabis plants, you have to purchase high CBD seeds or plants from a seed bank in order to have the best yield. 

More Articles To Read